King remembered at BSO candlelight service Grisby, Brooks receive 'Spirit' Award

by Jennifer Conlee, co-associate editor

 

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 during a rally for equality for all men, he left behind a legacy of a dream that all men would be equal. 

King, Jr., who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1964, was famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech, as well as for leading several peaceful marches for his cause.

On Jan. 30, South Plains College’s Black Student Organization and the Diversity Program presented a candlelight service to honor the life and legacy of King, Jr.

The event, which was held in the Sundown Room of the Student Center on the Levelland campus, began with a prayer by Reverend Alton Graves.  BSO vice-president Latrice Price then led the audience in the National Anthem.

Capitol Intermediate School teacher Ruby Brackens and six of her fourth-graders presented a short lesson on the life of King, Jr.  She reminded everyone of what King Jr. wanted his children to remember, that everyone should “judge people by the content of their character,” and not by the color of their skin.

The students and their teacher then presented a pop quiz about the famous leader.  One student, Abigail Sellers, 9, took to the podium to recite King’s “I have a Dream” speech from memory.

After the students finished, SPC student C.J. Smith performed a hip-hop style dance.

The speaker for the night was Quincy White of Lubbock.  White serves as the assistant city manager for the City of Lubbock and as the director of Lubbock Housing Authority.  He has also been involved with several youth initiative programs and Head Start programs in Lubbock, working to give the youth of the South Plains a better start and a better future. 

White’s speech centered mainly on the ways we have and have not progressed regarding King’s dreams.  He spoke of education, and how it is the parents’ faults when the students don’t learn.

“Children will rise to the bar you set for them,” said White.  “Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a world where there is equal education for all children, and we are not there yet.”

He also spoke of how blacks have still not reached full equality.                                     

“When King was alive, blacks represented 50 percent of a person, and that still has not changed,” said White.

He pointed out how people from New Orleans were being “referred” to as refugees, and reminded the audience that blacks are still living in low-income housing.

“Our lives begin to end,” White said in ending his speech, “the day we become silent about things that matter.”

This was the second year that the Spirit of Martin Luther King Award was presented at SPC.  The award is given to people who embrace embrace diversity, promote service to others, and work to build cultural understanding in the community

There were two recipients this year.  Maria Strong, SPC diversity coordinator and career counselor, and Jim Walker, SPC dean of continuing and distance education, presented the awards.

The first recipient was Jennette Grisby of Levelland, who was employed by SPC as the secretary to the dean of continuing and distance education for more than 30 years. She retired in December 2006.  During her time at SPC, she also served as the advisor for the BSO.

Walker, who presented her award, summed up her personality when he claimed, “to know her is to love her.”

The quiet woman took the podium to receiver her prize. 

“This is truly an honor, and I am truly humbled,” Grisby said, after thanking those who nominated her for the award.

The second recipient was Dr. Arlene Brooks of Levelland, who has been teaching at the Carver Learning Center in Levelland for 23 years.  She helped to establish the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock and the Food Box of Hockley County. She also was the recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontificae, a prestigious award given to people by the pope.

“I couldn’t believe that someone would think that I had the spirit of Martin Luther King,” said Brooks, on receiving the phone call about the award. “It was a dream come true.”

Jeremy Washington, president of the BSO, read a segment of King’s speech from the evening of his assassination, then candles were lit to honor King, as well as his wife, Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks, who is remembered for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person.